2018 Monaco Grand Prix
|poletime = 1:10.810 |fastestlap = 1:14.260 |fastestlapdriver = Max Verstappen |fastestlapnation = NED |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 60 |winner = Daniel Ricciardo |winnernation = AUS |winnerteam = |second = Sebastian Vettel |secondnation = GER |secondteam = |third = Lewis Hamilton |thirdnation = GBR |thirdteam = }} The 2018 Monaco Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2018) was the sixth race of the 2018 Formula One season, and the sixty-fifth time the Monaco Grand Prix was held on the Formula One calendar. It was held between 24 May and 27 May 2018. In qualifying, Daniel Ricciardo took his second pole position overall, scoring his and 's first pole since the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix, although his teammate Max Verstappen failed to set a qualifying time after crashing his car in FP3. Sebastian Vettel joined Ricciardo on the front row while championship leader Lewis Hamilton qualified third. In the race, Ricciardo kept the lead at the start after Vettel went alongside him before the first corner. On lap 28, Ricciardo's car started to lose a small amount of power, but he kept it ahead of Vettel for the rest of the race, while a virtual safety car was deployed on lap 73 after Charles Leclerc's brakes failed and he crashed into Brendon Hartley. With none of the front runners pitting under the virtual safety car, Ricciardo led every lap and took his seventh victory, also Red Bull's first win in Monaco since 2012. Vettel settled for second, while Hamilton completed the podium after fending off Kimi Räikkönen and Valtteri Bottas. __TOC__ Background The race marked the first time the hypersoft tyres were used in a Grand Prix. Ultrasofts and supersofts were also used. After they were used at the previous race in Spain, the winglets placed above 's rear-view mirrors on their halos were banned for further use. In the Spanish Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean was involved in a crash caused by him spinning into the paths of Nico Hülkenberg and Pierre Gasly. Therefore, he was given a three-place grid penalty for the Monaco Grand Prix. Entry list Practice Overview FP1 FP2 FP3 Practice Results Qualifying It proved to be a warm Saturday afternoon in Monte Carlo for the qualifying session, with the air temperature hovering around 29°C.'2018 Monaco Grand Prix: Qualifying Highlights', youtube.com, (YouTube:Formula 1, TBA), TBC, (Accessed 2018) Furthermore, the high air temps, and beating sunlight, meant that the track temperature was approaching 50°C, the highest it had been all weekend meaning that the new "Hypersoft" Pirelli tyres would be under maximum stress. Elsewhere, there were doubts over Max Verstappen's participation after his crash in FP3, with suspected gearbox damage to add to the Dutchman's woes. Q1 Indeed, Verstappen was fated not to make an appearance in the first qualifying session, immediately eliminating him from the proceedings. That reduced the danger zone down to four, although all of the field would head out onto the circuit within the first two minutes. Indeed, Pierre Gasly, Sergey Sirotkin and Charles Leclerc were so eager to get out on circuit that they queued up at the end of the pits prior to the start, hoping that heading out early would buy them some space on track. As ever it would be a traffic dominated session, with almost every driver losing a tenth or two as they passed slower cars. Regardless, it would be Daniel Ricciardo whom dictated the pace throughout, becoming the first man to record a sub-1:13.000 in the session, before settling at the midway point with a 1:12.013. The closest driver to the Australian would be Sebastian Vettel, three tenths back, while Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Räikkönen and Valtteri Bottas requiring two separate runs after their first efforts were blocked. With so many early efforts blocked the fight to escape the elimination zone effectively became a lottery, as demonstrated by Charles Leclerc who found enough space, mid-session, to claim a 1:12.829. That put the Monegasque's safely into the top ten, while teammate Marcus Ericsson failed to impress at all. Indeed, Ericsson would affect the last minute charge of Brendon Hartley in the final seconds, causing the Kiwi to fall shy of the mark, although Leclerc caused a brief yellow flag when he ran down the escape road at Saint Devote. Elsewhere, Lance Stroll endured a difficult session, outpaced by teammate Sirotkin throughout as he struggled to cope with an unstable rear-end. He was therefore powerless to avoid joining Ericcson, Hartley and Verstappen in the elimination zone, as was Kevin Magnussen in his . It was unclear why the Dane had struggled so much, although teammate Romain Grosjean was only a few tenths ahead, suggesting that the Haases simply lacked pace. Q2 Into the second qualifying session and the two seemed to have decided they were not in the fight for pole, and so pursued an alternative strategy. Both Hamilton and Bottas emerged with "ultrasoft" tyres bolted to their cars, while rivals Vettel, Räikkönen and Ricciardo all headed out on "hypersofts". Only time would tell as to whether the Mercedes gamble would work, particularly as the time loss between "hypers" and "ultras" was around the same as the gap between the top ten in Q1. Ultimately the Mercedes gamble failed, with Hamilton on the bubble in ninth and Bottas eleventh after the initial runs, meaning they had to switch to "hypers" after simply lacking grip. This fact was proven by the outright pace out front, with Ricciardo setting a new circuit record of 1:11.353, before improving to a 1:11.278 at the end of the session. Vettel recorded a safe 1:11.518 early on, while Räikkönen needed to attempts on different "hyper" sets to book his place in Q3. Into the closing stages and the Mercs did indeed rejoin the fray with "hypersofts", and duly booked their places in the final session. Their improvements knocked Carlos Sainz, Jr. and Pierre Gasly into the drop zone, although Sainz instantly responded with a strong time to make it through. Gasly, meanwhile, would just sneak through despite having had his warm-up lap ruined by Grosjean, with the Haas itself finishing fifteenth. He was joined on the sidelines by Leclerc, Sirotkin, Stoffel Vandoorne and a very disappointed Nico Hülkenberg. Q3 Having had to wait until the final moments to make it into Q3 there was little surprise that Gasly and Sainz queued up at the start of the session. They were joined early on by the two Mercedes, Fernando Alonso and the s, while Ricciardo and Räikkönen waited a while before joining the fray. Last out would be Vettel, who waited until the rest of the runners had started their flying laps before leaving the pits. First blood in the fight for pole would ultimately go to Ricciardo, who recorded a stunning effort of 1:10.810, smashing the circuit record he had set a little over ten minutes earlier. Bottas had briefly topped the time sheets with a time in the 1:11.500s, before Hamilton hit the top of the table with a 1:11.261. Ricciardo was next and blitzed their efforts with his aforementioned time, while the two Ferraris of Vettel and Räikkönen ended the first run 0.002s and 0.005s behind Hamilton respectively. After a brief pause the field once again poured out onto the circuit, although there was no chance of anyone beating Ricciardo's first run. Hamilton briefly challenged by setting the fastest first sector of the day, only for a mistake in the final sector to cost him half a second. That gave Vettel a shot of getting onto the front row, which he duly took by claiming a 1:11.039, while Räikkönen asserted his dominance over Bottas in the fight amongst the Finns. Elsewhere, the Force Indias looked to be the best of the rest of the first runs, with Esteban Ocon in sixth and Sergio Pérez seventh. However, only Ocon would improve during his second run, meaning he retained sixth, while Pérez slipped down to ninth, just ahead of Gasly's under-powered . In their place came the Spaniards Alonso and Sainz, the former seemingly happy given his was at least ahead of Sainz's . Qualifying Results ** Grosjean was given a three-place grid penalty for causing an avoidable collision at the previous race in Spain. *† Verstappen did not set a time within the 107% rule, but was given permission from the stewards to race. He was also given a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change, as well as a ten-place grid penalty for using his third MGU-K. Grid Source ** Grosjean was given a three-place grid penalty for causing an avoidable collision at the previous race in Spain. *† Verstappen did not set a time within the 107% rule, but was given permission from the stewards to race. He was also given a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change, as well as a ten-place grid penalty for using his third MGU-K. Race It proved to be an overcast afternoon on the Mediterranean coast ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, with temperatures hovering around 25°C.Placeholder> Indeed, there would be a few spots of rain as the field assembled on a celebrity heavy grid, although as the non-driving talent was waved away the few drops that were falling ceased, having barely graced the tarmac. Regardless, the 20 qualifiers were ready for the start, although a troublesome wheel nut for Sergey Sirotkin almost caused him to miss the start. Report There was a split on tyre choice between the top and bottom halves of the grid, with the top ten all starting on "hypersofts", while the rest were starting on "ultras". That fact, however, would have no impact on the start, with the field arriving into Sainte Devote in grid order, Daniel Ricciardo having hooked his get away from pole beautifully. Behind, Sebastian Vettel fended off a half-hearted challenge from Lewis Hamilton, while Max Verstappen lunged past the two Haases at the very back of the field. The run up to Massanet saw the field quickly sort itself into a long, stable crocodile, although as the field hit the brakes into the tight Loews hairpin there would be some minor contact in the middle of the field. In the middle of the organised melee Brendon Hartley managed to damage his front wing, although he was able to continue on without issue in fifteenth. It was unclear as to whom the Kiwi had managed to nudge, having happened "off camera". At the end of a rather uneventful opening lap it was still Ricciardo leading from Vettel, Hamilton, Kimi Räikkönen and Valtteri Bottas, with Esteban Ocon best of the rest. The Frenchman was seemingly untroubled by his pursuers Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz, Jr., while Sergio Pérez and Pierre Gasly completed the top ten. At the back, meanwhile, Verstappen would come around in eighteenth having not had any clear opportunities to pass, with Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen set to endure a miserable afternoon in his wake. There was little action in the early stages either, with the top five, plus Ocon, pulling steadily clear of Alonso, who was himself safe from attack from Sainz behind. It was therefore up to the man at the back of the field, Verstappen, to provide the entertainment, although the Dutchman would need a few laps to pass Marcus Ericsson, diving past the Swede into Mirabeau. Two laps later and the was sent scything past Lance Stroll into the Nouvelle Chicane, before being waved past by the wounded Hartley on lap eight. As Verstappen caught and passed Hartley for fifteenth there would be various minor dramas around Monte Carlo, with the insignificant rain drops briefly returning, while Magnussen complained of debris at Loews. This may have just been a ploy by the Dane to get a safety car out on circuit to catch the field, although when Stroll appeared with a punctured front left tyre at the Swimming Pool it seemed as if this was the case. Yet, the punctured Pirelli was not the result of stray carbon fibre, rather an optimistic lunge by Stroll at Ericsson into Sainte Devote after the Swede had passed him on the previous lap. As this had been going on the top five had sprinted clear of Ocon in sixth, with Riccardo and Vettel having enough advantage over the Frenchman to stop and rejoin ahead. Sensing this, it was who blinked first, pulling Hamilton at the end of lap eleven to change to a set of ultrasofts. The Brit would, however, rejoin behind the , and duly went charging off after him while Mercedes, potentially, went to speak to their customer team about letting the Brit through. Hamilton's stop would begin a slow trickle into the pits throughout the field, while the Brit himself went charging past Ocon on the brakes into the Nouvelle Chicane, Ocon having opted not to defend. Elsewhere, Sirotkin had been made to serve a ten second stop/go penalty for having work carried out on his car after the three minute signal before the start, only to get slapped with an identical penalty when work was reportedly done to the car during the penalty. , however, would challenge the decision and get it overturned, although with Stroll last, and a lap down, and Sirotkin nineteenth, it seemed as if there was little point in the former Champions continuing. Back with the leaders and Vettel made his stop on lap fifteen, rejoining ahead of Bottas with a fresh set of ultrasofts. The Finn would stop on the following tour, getting a set of "supersofts" bolted to his car, while race leader Ricciardo had a new set of "ultras" fitted to his charger. That left Räikkönen with the lead of the race ahead of the Australian, while Bottas rejoined a few seconds behind Alonso further down the order. Räikkönen would come in on lap seventeen, fitting "ultrasofts", followed on subsequent laps by Alonso, Stoffel Vandoorne and Pérez, all fitting "supers". Ocon was next and also stopped for the red walled Pirellis, while Stroll, still at the back of the field, complained about his car. His comments were not particularly helpful to Williams, although they were immediately overshadowed by the fact that Räikkönen had pulled right onto the back of Hamilton. Yet, even with DRS, the Finn could find no way past the Brit, and soon found himself in the sights of Bottas, charging up from behind. Out front, meanwhile, it seemed as if Ricciardo was cruising to an easy victory, until a sudden loss of power cut his three second gap back to Vettel in half. The Australian had suffered a total failure of his MGU-K, causing a 25% power loss for his engine, leaving him vulnerable to the German at the end of Monaco's short straights. However, a power advantage was by no means a guarantee of a pass and so, like teammate Räikkönen, Vettel was subjected to lap after lap of staring at the back of the car ahead. Behind, Bottas had got onto the back of the #7 , allowing Hamilton to escape, although all three were beginning to draw onto the "fight" for the lead. Elsewhere, Gasly finally made his stop from sixth place on lap 37, switching his rather second hand "hypers" for a set of "supers", while Stroll suffered his second left-front puncture of the afternoon, just managing to get out of the way of Ricciardo and Vettel as they charged through the Swimming Pool. That left Verstappen and Nico Hülkenberg as the only drivers yet to stop, running tenth and sixth respectively, while Hamilton, up front, complained of graining. Indeed, the pace was now so slow from the leaders that it seemed as if the "ultras" were not the tyre to use, prompting calls from Hamilton to stop for another set of tyres to try and force the others into stopping. Indeed, his calls would become stronger once Verstappen headed to the pits, for the Dutchman rejoined on a fresh set of "hypers" on lap 48 and duly set fastest lap after fastest lap. The Dutchman rejoined down in eleventh, with Hülkenberg stopping a lap later to rejoin just ahead of the #33 Red Bull. They quickly caught onto the back of Sainz, who, after a radio call, duly waved his German teammate through at Beau Rivage, meaning the s blocked in Verstappen. Indeed, Verstappen would have to wait another couple of laps before throwing a move at the Spaniard as, up ahead, Alonso's quiet race came to an end with a gearbox failure. Unfortunately, given the rather quiet nature of the race, Alonso was able to get his car safely off the circuit on the escape road at Sainte Devote, meaning the safety car was still not required. As his car was pushed a little further clear, Verstappen launched an ambitious dive inside Sainz into the Nouvelle Chicane, getting alongside at the apex but forcing the Spaniard off the road. He instantly complained on the radio but, in truth, there was little Sainz could do other than cause an accident. A lap later and Verstappen was again diving on the brakes past Sainz into Nouvelle, although this time he was on the racing line. Sainz, on the inside, gave the Dutchman room, although the Red Bull still had to cut across the inside of the chicane to make it past, scraping across the big inside kerb as he did so. He duly scrambled clear on the exit, having come to a near stop on full steering lock to make it around, and sprinted clear, although it was dubious as to whether he had cut the chicane or not. Regardless, Verstappen was clear to launch his final assault to get further up the order, setting a series of fastest laps before getting onto the back of Hülkenberg once again. Out front, meanwhile, the top five had got very close and then drifted apart, with no signs of anyone stopping for fresh tyres. Indeed, with fifteen laps to go the chance to stop had all but disappeared, with Ocon charging towards them in the Force India, dragging Gasly, Hülkenberg and Verstappen with him. Into the closing stages and it was clear that Hamilton was out of the fight for victory, the Brit falling back at half a second a lap with horrible graining on his front tyres. Vettel, meanwhile, was going through a routine of slow and quick laps to try and catch Ricciardo out, although the Australian was calmly controlling his pace to keep his wounded Red Bull ticking over. Behind, Bottas was copying the German's moves on the back of Räikkönen, with Ocon latching onto the back of them with eight laps to go. Suddenly it seemed as if there would be a late twist, for home hero Charles Leclerc had gone right into the back of Hartley at the Nouvelle Chicane, removing the Kiwi's rear wing, and destroying his own front left corner. In truth, a brake failure had been the cause of the Leclerc/Hartley accident, with the Monegasque racer throwing his car into the barriers on the outside of the braking zone to try and avoid the innocent Kiwi. Regardless, Leclerc now found himself climbing out of his cockpit down the escape road, while Hartley dragged his wounded car into the pits to retire. Ultimately, the stewards decided to throw a Full Course Yellow to remove the debris, for there was a large gap in the field between Ricciardo in first and his next lapping victim Vandoorne. Indeed, the Belgian stop during the FCY to bolt on a set of "hypers", a ploy to try and clinch fastest lap, only to rejoin in between Ricciardo and Vettel. The Belgian's appearance therefore seemed to settle the matter for victory, with Ricciardo making a perfect restart with five laps still to run to pull more than five seconds clear of the Ferrari. Indeed it would be the last piece of significant action in the race, allowing Ricciardo to claim a superb maiden victory in Monte Carlo with his wounded car. Vettel was still a clear second ahead of Hamilton, who had Räikkönen and Bottas glued to his gearbox at the finish. Ocon was next with Gasly, Hülkenberg and Verstappen under his rear wing, while Sainz just scrambled across the line ahead of Ericsson with some very abused tyres on his . Results The full race results for the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix are outlined below: ** Leclerc and Hartley were still classified despite retiring as they had completed 90% of the race distance. Milestones * 's 250th Grand Prix. *Red Bull's first pole position since the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix. *Daniel Ricciardo's first double. Standings A second victory of the season for Daniel Ricciardo propelled the Australian racer into the top three in the Championship, although he remained a dark horse rather than serious contender. Indeed, with Championship leader Lewis Hamilton finishing third, and Sebastian Vettel second, the gap between the leading duo and the rest of the field had, in reality, grown. However, the gap between themselves was down to fourteen points, although with the next race in Canada being one of Hamilton's strongest races historically, that gap was set to expand. saw their gap over in the Constructors' Championship reduced to 22 points in Monte Carlo, a healthy but by no means unbreachable advantage. Behind, victory for Ricciardo had dragged marginally closer to the fight, while solidified themselves in fourth. Elsewhere, another strong result for put them ahead of , with also heading up the table towards in fifth. Only point scoring drivers are shown. Notes Category:Grand Prix articles Category:2018 Grands Prix Category:Monaco Grand Prix